Howard University

Howard University, at Washington, D.C.; coeducational; with federal support. It was founded in 1867 by Gen. Oliver O. Howard of the Freedmen's Bureau, to provide education for newly emancipated slaves. A normal and preparatory department was opened the same year. In 1868 the collegiate department and the departments of law, pharmacy, and medicine were opened, followed by the theological (1871), dentistry (1882), music (1883), and engineering and architecture (1910) departments. The university also has schools of fine arts, nursing, business and public administration, and social work. The Founders Library houses the Moorland-Spingarn and Channing Pollock collections on African-American literature and history, which date back to the 16th cent. Although predominantly a black university, the school has been open since its founding to all qualified students.